The Nigerian Electrification Project – An example of a successful rural electrification design?

Nigeria has one of the lowest net electricity generation per capita rates in the world with an estimated national electrification rate of 55% and rural electrification rate of only 39%. To achieve universal access to electricity by 2030, Nigeria will need to connect between 500,000 to 800,000 households per year, especially focused on the rural areas. To this end, the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA) was created by the Electric Power Sector Reform Act in 2006. The agency exists to facilitate the provision of affordable power supply for residential, commercial, industrial and social activities in the rural and peri-urban areas of the country with initiatives such as the recently launched Nigerian Electrification Project (NEP).